After a quick visit to a hospital, after twelve torrid rounds and after losing his beloved world title belt it is safe to say that James DeGale knows that fairytales are rare in the boxing business and that his homecoming was horrible.

His fight on Saturday night at the CopperBox against Caleb Truax, a safe guy he personally selected, was lost in round five when his bad habit of sitting on the ropes backfired in a bloody and brutal way. The final decision a few rounds later, one judge gave a draw and the other two went for the American, was only confirmation of the suffering in round five and DeGale was left utterly shocked at the end. He looked like a ruined shadow, a bloodied and unsteady ghost of the boy from the Beijing Olympics with the gold medal and the endless hopes.

DeGale, now 31, was rocked by the same punch, a nasty right uppercut, several times in the fifth and as his senses temporarily deserted him, his shattered nose started to bleed, smearing his face and blocking his throat simultaneously. It was uncomfortable viewing from ringside as Truaxís punches sent the dark blood spraying all over the ring, often with DeGale teetering in the direction of the flying blood.

It was DeGaleís first fight in Britain for three years after four world title fights on the road and his remaining splendid ambitions looked achievable in the first four rounds; Truax was trying to force the pace but DeGale slipped, hit, slid, hit again and was not in trouble or under threat until the start of the fifth round. Truax failed to finish it in the fifth and DeGale survived but he was in a savage scrap, his nose busted and his right shoulder, which went under the surgeonís knife in the summer, suddenly looking like an increasingly lame appendage, there for little more than an occasional block and an even rarer stiff jab. DeGale insisted after the fight that the shoulder was fine, which is probably true from a medical perspective, but he never used it like he once did; instead, as the gruelling fight got harder, he simply tapped it out, pushing it out with no power and seemingly having no confidence in the fix.

ďI will have to sit down and look at everything, look for what went wrong,Ē said DeGale at the end. He seemed totally confused when it was over, lost for an explanation for his lack of timing, sharpness and vanished ring craft: Truax looked unstoppable in some rounds and so easily beatable in others. It was a strange fight and not a fight that can be easily explained or excused without a thorough examination of all the factors involved in the shock. It might seem harsh to say but Truax wins the 2017 prize as the right man, in the right place, at the right time. He deserved the decision, but it was certainly not a massacre.

So DeGale lost far more than his IBF super-middleweight belt in the ring in east London, he lost his right to scream for big fights, his right to claim he is better than either Chris Eubank Jr or George Groves, both bitter rivals and both holding versions of the world title. His nose is damaged and he has to go back when the swelling has subsided, his belt is gone but the real loss was the luxury of bragging rights. The snowy Sunday morning held savage appraisals from both Groves and Eubank Jr, who incidentally fight each other in February. It can be cruel falling short of a destination your big mouth has predicted. Nobody predicted the Truax calamity and some bookies offered as deep as 46-1 on the American winning.

DeGale wants and deserves a rematch, which is like a tiny irrelevant speck at the moment. He needs to look at what motivates him now, try to solve the mysteries of his deserted form, which he insists was there before walking to the ring, and, when the physical damage has healed and when a new fight is in place, he will have to ask himself just how much is left and how badly he still wants to fight. The answers to those two naked questions are never easy if a boxer, a fallen golden boy like DeGale, has to ask them in the first place. The fight against Truax was a disturbing glimpse at a possibly horrible future.

Amazing to think at the turn of the year he was arguably in one of the best fights of 2017 against Jack and at the end of the year the talk is his career is over. I missed the fight fell asleep but seen the interviews at the end and thought ****** honesty was refreshing.

If James is to continue perhaps now is time to change trainer and start to rebuild he's had a bad habit of 'falling asleep' in fights and making it harder than its had to be. He's not the best at just doing enough to nick rounds. I can only assume that lack of craft in his game plan comes from his coaching/training.

I have enjoyed some of his fights and wars however if he calls it a day for me at least it will be a career that never fully fulfilled its potential.

Amazing to think at the turn of the year he was arguably in one of the best fights of 2017 against Jack and at the end of the year the talk is his career is over. I missed the fight fell asleep but seen the interviews at the end and thought ****** honesty was refreshing.

If James is to continue perhaps now is time to change trainer and start to rebuild he's had a bad habit of 'falling asleep' in fights and making it harder than its had to be. He's not the best at just doing enough to nick rounds. I can only assume that lack of craft in his game plan comes from his coaching/training.

I have enjoyed some of his fights and wars however if he calls it a day for me at least it will be a career that never fully fulfilled its potential.

Degale is very much the boss and calls the shots in his team and itís been that way since the Olympics. Itís the reason heís stuck with Jimmy Mac this long because he doesnít like being told what to do. I canít see him changing trainer at this stage of his career, if he does I donít think it will end well. I wouldnít 100% rule out the possibility of him calling it a day either.

He's going to be a difficult puzzle for any trainer to solve. I think it's just his style, he needs to plant his feet and stop floating around and sagging on the ropes when he takes a breather. His output is erratic, he goes from putting down the gas to doing nothing - with no inbetween.

Of immediate concern is his right shoulder, if that's as compromised as it appeared against Truax then he should retire. If its okay and it was more a mental block as to why he wasn't really throwing right hands, then he has a chance at a successful return.

He needs a new trainer, he should have gotten rid of Jim McDonnell after the loss to Groves. The Ingles would have been perfect for him then, his style is suited to their style and they'd have gotten him into proper condition. Jim McDonnell seems a nice man, but his old school approach to conditioning has seen DeGale come in past the boil too many times now, and technically/tactically he's just not a good enough coach.

I don't know why Degale ever lays on the ropes, it just encourages pressure to be put on him and he's nowhere near as effective from that position with counters as to justify it. He's far better looking to pressure and counter from the front foot. That's where he does his best work, when he goes to the ropes he's a sitting duck really.

To be honest its most probably far too late now for Degale to become the fighter I think he had the raw potential to be. But with a few changes he can still go on to further success, providing the shoulder is okay.

A few little rumours are going round he did little sparring for this fight and was whoring himself off for a payday before xmas. He as used this free agent business to go to Frank to Eddie back to Frank to get a quick payday and then wait out for the Eubank - Groves winner. Degale's issue is that he ain't a draw and never as been Hennessey had him fighting in shopping centres and leisure centres he as talent but he as wasted a lot of time chasing fights that weren't there and pricing himself out of others. At 31 with no title, no appeal as a ticket seller and no rematch clause he is going to have to do something quick to turn it round and I think it will be going up in weight and taking on a big name away from home ......Stevenson maybe

When questioned about DeGale's loss, Eddie Hearn voiced his disappointment at the news but criticised the Brit for some his career choices, especially his decision to operate without a promoter as a free agent.

"Let me tell you what happens when you are a free agent: nobody gives a f--- about you," Hearn told iFL TV. "I'm not talking about the public, I'm talking about in the business.

"You want to go into a fight in a voluntary defence and not have a rematch clause? What are you playing at? Who's responsible for that? You know why? Because he doesn't have a promoter.

"It's been a shambles since he won that world title."

In the lead up to his last fight, the 31-year-old told spam that he was targeting future bouts against either George Groves or Chris Eubank Jr., with the latter stating that the dethroned champion had "let down British boxing" after Saturday's fight.

@ChrisEubankJr:-After all the trash talk & disrespectful comments @jamesdegale1 you go & put on a display like that!! All I can say is WOW!!! You have properly let down British Boxing #Shameful11:07 PM - Dec 9, 2017507 Replies 2,285 Retweets 6,164 likes

"They [potential fights with the pair] are in a terrible position," Hearn added. "They're probably dead, but they're certainly dead in terms of how much he's going to get [split of the purse].

"It would have been hard enough as him as world champion."

Following the fight, DeGale said that he would take some time out to reconsider his future in the sport with suggestions that he could be headed to an early retirement.

Despite voicing his hopes that DeGale will return from the setback, Hearn admitted that he does not expect to see the super-middleweight in the ring again.

"I'm not sure he'll fight again," Hearn said. "If you're not in love with the sport, if you're cutting corners, if you're not living the life, it will catch up with you

"Unless he has the desire to come back, he should leave the sport. He needs some time to get his head around the defeat.

"He's hurting right now, and so he should be. He should be eating people like Truax for breakfast."

Even if he wins the rematch I think he'll be a fair bit off the pace in the financial stakes. The talk before the fight was of him facing Benevidiz next which, if he'd won, would've made him unified IBF/WBC champion. Now he'll be looking to face the WBSS winner (Smith seems to have been a bit forgotten in all the Groves v Eubank talk) who will be big business on the back of two fights against Truax if he is successful in the rematch which won't necessarily be in the UK.

Even if he wins the rematch I think he'll be a fair bit off the pace in the financial stakes. The talk before the fight was of him facing Benevidiz next which, if he'd won, would've made him unified IBF/WBC champion. Now he'll be looking to face the WBSS winner (Smith seems to have been a bit forgotten in all the Groves v Eubank talk) who will be big business on the back of two fights against Truax if he is successful in the rematch which won't necessarily be in the UK.

I know what you mean, It'd be better if he'd managed to unify himself in the interim. But I still don't think he'd be on too bad a financial footing even so. People love a comeback return to glory type story....and as long as its a British winner of the super series(which in all probability it will be) then people will want to see him against whoever emerges as top dog.

Think the only danger would be if perhaps one of the super series fights warranted a rematch. But if Degale can regain his strap then he's got a decent bargaining chip plus he's got history with both Groves and Eubank which adds the extra spice.

The big question is whether he's physically able to compete at the top level anymore, we shall soon see.